Controversial questions about life

By Julia Hinde

25 October 2013 — 12:24pm

BA (minor in bioethics) at Monash University

What is bioethics?

From the use of human embryonic stem cells to human cloning, from reproductive decision-making to the search for gay genes, students on this course will face many of the controversial and cutting-edge issues.

Photo: Monkey Business Images Ltd

"Ethics involves questions about what's right and wrong, about good and bad, and questions of value," says Michael Selgelid, director of Monash's Centre for Human Bioethics. He explains that bioethics is about answering these kinds of questions in the areas of healthcare, medicine and life sciences.

From the use of human embryonic stem cells to human cloning, from reproductive decision-making to the search for gay genes, students on this course will face many of the controversial and cutting-edge issues of our time. "We are in the middle of a revolution in life sciences, which is going to affect us in lots of ways," Professor Selgelid says. "Lots of what we are interested in is driven by advances in biosciences, particularly advances in genetics and biotechnology. It makes a whole lot of different things possible."

Bioethics is only available as a minor?

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That's right. You'll need to do four units – including two in the first year – to qualify for a bioethics minor, which, from 2014, will be available at Monash's Caulfield and also Clayton campuses. Courses on offer range from Bioethics: Current Controversies and Bioethics: Biotechnology, Justice and the Law, to the Human Body and the International Marketplace, where students will delve into subjects ranging from patenting genes to the international trade in organs.

Who signs up?

"We have a diverse student body," says Professor Selgelid, adding that bioethics is a general-interest course. "The subjects we deal with are interesting to students in general," he says. "The ideas are inherently interesting, controversial and relevant. We have lots of arts students, but also science students and those studying law."

The course is perfect for pre-med students, he says. Each year about 100 students enrol on each unit.

Are there jobs for people with bioethics qualifications?

You might find a job at a hospital or a research institute working on an ethics committee or doing clinical ethics. Or you might work in science policy for government or do humanitarian work for NGOs. More generally, Professor Selgelid says, bioethics students develop important skills in critical thinking, analysis, writing and argument that can be invaluable in the wider jobs market.

What will it cost?

In 2014 students studying for a BA at Monash can expect to pay about $6350 for the year. In 2013 you needed an ATAR score of 85.05 to get into arts at Clayton and a 80.05 for a place at Caulfield.

What do students have to say?

Julian Koplin, 24, is a second-year bioethics PhD student who, as an undergraduate, paired a major in international studies with bioethics courses. He became interested in the ethical issues, the benefits and the perils surrounding the commodification of human body parts.

"Most countries have a shortage of transferable organs," he says. "I am interested in whether we should pay people for kidneys and in the ethical issues surrounding an open market place for kidneys."